Photo By Kristen Wong | Navy Lt. Matt Miller, maintenance officer, Detachment 3, Helicopter Anti-Submarine...... read more read more
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KANEOHE, Hawaii - More than a dozen service members from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 37 Detachment Three returned from a four-month deployment June 20.
Families and colleagues met a portion of the crew at Hangar 103 aboard the base while the rest arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-
Hickam.
Visiting at least six different countries, Detachment Three participated in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercises with various foreign military units. The squadron participates in as many as five CARAT exercises a year.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Lou Faiella, detachment officer in charge, Detachment Three, HSL-37, called this deployment a success.
“We met all our milestones,” Faiella said. “We heeded every
call and there wasn’t a single part of our mission that actually could
have done any better based on the circumstances.”
Faiella’s family welcomed him home Monday morning.
His eldest son said the time his father was away was definitely a learning experience, ensuring the “house stays up and running,” keeping track of appointments, cooking and cleaning.
Traveling aboard the USS Reuben James, the detachment went to countries such as Thailand, Jakarta and Singapore. While the
detachment was deployed, Japan was devastated by an earthquake
and tsunami earlier this year. The detachment helped escort the USS George Washington out of the Japanese ports because of possible radioactive contamination.
They also medically evacuated two injured civilian contractors aboard the carrier to a nearby Marine Corps base in central Japan.
Navy Lt. Matt Miller, maintenance officer, Detachment Three, HSL-37, said one of the most rewarding aspects of the deployment was eating alongside the Thai military. Miller said one of the officers invited the crew to his restaurant.
“Getting to know them on a personal level was really a great experience for me,” Miller said.
Miller was reunited with his wife outside of Hangar 103.
“Deployments are always hard whether it’s your first or second,” Miller’s wife said.
She said this deployment was different from the last because this time she’s pregnant. When Miller returned home, the couple planned to go shopping for baby items and go to an ultrasound appointment.
“He didn’t want me to buy anything until he came home,” Miller’s wife said.
This was the third deployment for Petty Officer 2nd Class Casey Norbeck, naval aircrewman, Detachment Three, HSL-37. Norbeck said the most rewarding aspect of the deployment was being able to work with other navies and share ideas.
While Norbeck was deployed, his wife kept busy working at Mokapu Elementary School as a substitute education assistant and went to the mainland to visit family. She called this particular deployment scary primarily because of the events in Japan and the fact that she wasn’t always able to talk to her husband.
“There are always surprises,” Norbeck’s wife said. “You just roll with it.”
| Date Taken: | 06.20.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.24.2011 16:35 |
| Story ID: | 72696 |
| Location: | KANEOHE, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 230 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Home again: HSL-37 Detachment Three returns to K-Bay, by Kristen Wong, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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